


I Just Don’t Want To Miss You Tonight

by Georgie04



Category: Ackley Bridge (TV)
Genre: Acceptance, Bisexual Male Character, Gay Character, Getting Together, Love, M/M, Riz is smart, Understanding Naveed, confused Cory, i love them, they’re so soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 04:27:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15655752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Georgie04/pseuds/Georgie04
Summary: Naveed decides to give Cory time to figure things out. Maybe Cory has known all along.





	I Just Don’t Want To Miss You Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> And all I can’t taste is this moment, and all I can breathe is your life, and sooner or later it’s over, I just don’t wanna miss you tonight. 
> 
> \- Iris, Goo Goo Dolls.

Naveed wasn’t an idiot, not by a long shot. 

Cory probably wasn’t lying when he’d said that he wasn’t gay, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything between them. Naveed knew there was. The looks Cory gave him hadn’t gone unnoticed, or how he smiled just a bit wider when Naveed was around, how he laughed at his jokes just a little longer than he laughed at Riz’s. And Naveed would never get the memory of that night out of his head, no matter how much he tried to. The way Cory’s fingertips had caressed his skin was burned into Naveed’s very soul, the way his lips had brushed so gently against Nav’s neck, how he’d smiled once they had finished. Cory had looked more alive, more whole in that moment than Naveed had ever seen him. 

So maybe Cory wasn’t gay, but Naveed knew that didn’t change what had transpired between them. Even if Cory wasn’t ready to accept it yet, he cared for Naveed, and Naveed was willing to wait. 

Naveed had known he was gay since he was young, and so he’d had years to come to terms with it. Whatever Cory was, whatever he was experiencing, was clearly so very new for him. He’d looked at and touched Naveed like he’d never seen anything like him before, and he hadn’t, at least, not in that context. It wasn’t lost on Naveed that this was probably the first time Cory had ever been attracted to a guy, and therefore the first time he’d ever questioned his sexuality. 

Naveed was lucky enough to know who he was before he’d been brainwashed into believing there was a right and a wrong way to be a man. But Cory holding so much toxic masculinity inside him, so many stereotypes of what it meant to be a _proper_ man, meant that what he was experiencing - liking another guy - was so far beyond what he had been taught was okay, that he was terrified. 

Cory had shattered Naveed’s heart. When he arrived at Cory’s and saw Shannon there, wearing just Cory’s shirt with her arms wrapped around him, Naveed’s heart fell from his chest and he cut his feet on the broken shards of it as he fled. And Cory had tried to explain, tried to tell Naveed that it was fun but he didn’t want him like _that_ , but that had just hurt Nav even more. He wanted to be angry, and he was for a while. But he’d taken a step back to look at the bigger picture, and what he’d seen wasn’t a callous boy who didn’t care about Naveed’s feelings, no, it was a scared boy who was terrified of his _own_.

So Naveed would be his friend, because that’s what Cory needed, and if something more happened then great, and if not, he’d still have his best friend. 

*

It was a couple of weeks after the incident, and things were pretty much back to normal. Well, as normal as things ever were in Ackley. Naveed and Cory were still best friends - even though there was always a whisper of something more between them - and what happened that night had been kept firmly under wraps. Naveed was still longing for Cory, and still hoping Cory was longing for him, but not pushing it all the same. 

It was lunch time and Naveed was sat with Cory and Riz in the common room. There was a light drizzle outside, which was a nice reprieve from the uncharacteristically hot weather they’d been experiencing for the past few weeks. Riz and Cory were sat beside each other watching videos on one of their phones, while Naveed was sitting on the floor by their feet, trying to write jokes for his next sketch at the rec centre. _Trying_ being the operative word, because Cory’s leg was pressing against Naveed’s side, and he was hyper-aware of it. 

“Do you two fancy having a few drinks and a takeaway at mine tonight or something?”

It was no secret to Naveed that Cory was lonely. His dad was still in hospital after he fell from the roof of their house, and Jordan was still in care, so Cory was always alone in the house. It didn’t help that Riz was at physical therapy a lot to help his neck injury, and Naveed tried to avoid spending too much time alone with Cory for fear that Cory would think Nav was pressuring him somehow. That meant Cory spent more time by himself than with people, and Naveed knew how lonely an existence that was from his time before moving to Ackley. 

“Sorry mate I can’t, we’re going staying with my Gran and Grandad for the weekend,” Riz said, patting Cory on the shoulder in apology. 

Naveed couldn’t help but feel disappointed. He was almost certain that Cory wouldn’t want to be alone with Nav at his house again after what happened last time they were in that situation. And a night with his mates was just what Nav needed. His dad had been great since he came out, but his mum? Not so much. She hadn’t kicked him out, and there’d be no more visits from the Imam, which was _something_. But she was still distant with him, only talking to him if Naveed engaged her first, and often making covert, sly remarks. 

“Oh right, no worries,” Cory replied, not even sounding bothered, much to Nav’s surprise. “What about you lad?”

Naveed felt Cory’s leg knock into him, so he turned his head to look at his best friend. The second their eyes met Naveed couldn’t help but smile, and Cory’s face instantly mirrored it. 

“You up for it?” 

“Yeah, yeah why not,” Naveed agreed, smiling wider, surprised Cory wanted to spend time alone with him. 

The bell rang signalling the end of lunch and the start of classes. 

“Sound, I’ll see you after then, I’ve gotta get to lesson.” And with that, he was off.

Riz and Naveed both had free periods, so they remained sitting in the common room. After Cory had turned and waved goodbye, Nav started back on the jokes for his sketch, hoping to get more done now that Cory wasn’t around to distract him. 

They sat in silence for a while as the last of the students left to either go to class or to study elsewhere. Once they were the only two left in the common room, Riz sat up and leaned forward slightly, so Naveed could hear clearly without him having talk too loud. 

“So when were you gonna tell me, eh?” 

Naveed hummed a distracted response, having no idea what Riz was talking about, and trying to finish writing before he forgot the joke he’d come up with. 

“You and Cory?”

That got Naveed’s attention quick enough, and he put his pen down and turned to look at Riz. 

“What you on about?” Naveed asked. 

“When were you planning on telling me?”

“Telling you what?” Naveed let out a nervous laugh. 

“I’m not arsed you know? You could have said something.”

“Mate, I’ve not a foggiest what you’re on about?” Naveed said, trying to play it cool and act like his heart wasn’t trying to break out of his chest. 

“I know you’re together.” Riz leaned back as if what he had said was no big deal. 

It was a big deal. A very, _very_ big deal. Naveed was partly excited, because that meant Riz could see it too, could see the way Cory was around him, but it also made him terrified, because Riz couldn’t know what happened between him and Cory until Cory chose to tell him, _if_ Cory chose to tell him. 

Naveed laughed, “What? We aren’t together mate.”

Riz rolled his eyes, “I’m not blind.”

“Are you sure? Think you need your eyes checked bro, because me and Cory are absolutely not together,” Naveed denied, hoping that his internal panic wasn’t too obvious. 

“Really?” Naveed nodded. “Well, why not?” Riz continued. 

Nav had to laugh at Riz’s question. _Why not?_ As if there was a simple answer to that, or any at all for that matter. 

“Mate, Cory ain’t gay,” Nav said, which wasn’t technically a lie. 

This time it was Riz’s turn to laugh. He put his hand on Naveed’s shoulder, and as he pushed himself up into a standing position, he said into Nav’s ear, “Yeah, but he ain’t _straight_ either, is he?”

Naveed was in shock, and before he even figured out how to speak again, let alone formulate a coherent answer, Riz was out of the door and Naveed was left by himself in the common room. Did Riz know something? Surely not. If Cory had been comfortable enough to tell Riz he wasn’t straight, then he would have definitely felt comfortable enough to Naveed. You know, seeing as Naveed was gay. And they’d freaking _slept together._

The only logical conclusion was that Riz had just assumed Cory wasn’t straight, and the fact that Riz could see it too provided Naveed with some form of comfort, because it was proof that he wasn’t just seeing things because he wanted to see them. But that still didn’t really change anything. The entire world could think Cory was queer and it wouldn’t make the slightest bit of difference if Cory was still refusing to acknowledge or accept it. 

*

Naveed was making his way over to Cory’s house after school. He had nipped home first to grab some money and a change of clothes after Cory had text him saying he may as well just spend the night. Logically he knew it was a bad idea, that him and Cory, alone in that house together, was a recipe for disaster, but how could he say no? Cory was alone in the house and needed company, and god, did Naveed love him. So obviously he agreed. He’d probably have agreed to just about anything if Cory was the one to ask. 

It took a bit of encouraging for his mum to let him go. She didn’t want him to, didn’t want him spending the night at another boys house when he was “that way inclined”, as she had so eloquently phrased it. So Naveed lied a little, said there was going to be a few of them there, not just him and Cory. And after his dad stepped in and told his mum to back off, she gave her signature head wiggle and walked off. Naveed took that as permission and left, not missing the wink his dad gave him on the way out. 

It didn’t take too long for Naveed to reach Cory’s street, but once he did he felt his anxiety levels drastically increase. He sent a panicked text to Nas, but then slipped his phone in his pocket, too nervous to read her reply. She’d probably disapprove and Naveed really didn’t need to hear that right now. So, after taking a deep breath, he walked up the pathway and knocked on the door. 

It took Cory roughly 2.7 seconds to answer, as if he’d been hovering nearby since Naveed had text him to let him know he was on his way. And when Cory opened the door with a bright smile on his face, Naveed realised he’d never really stood a chance. There was no way on God’s good earth Naveed Haider could have _not_ fallen in love with Cory Wilson. The way he looked, the way he smiled, the way his eyes softened when he saw Naveed; the way he loved his son and spent time with him every chance he got, and how fiercely he loved his brother as well. Naveed was _always_ going to fall in love with Cory, it was inevitable. 

“Hiya mate, come in,” Cory enthused, grinning as he stepped back to let Naveed in the house. 

“I’ve brought some money to get us a takeaway, but I’m not drinking tonight,” Naveed told him. 

He had decided the second Riz had declined the interaction and he accepted it, that there was no way he was going to drink alcohol while he was alone with Cory. The memory of what happened last time they were alone after a few drinks was still painfully present in Naveed’s mind, and as much as he would love to shag Cory again, he wasn’t about to be another mistake.

“Yeah I think that’s a good idea,” Cory laughed, scratching the back of his head. 

Naveed followed Cory upstairs to his bedroom, where Nav hadn’t been since the morning after. A sense of nostalgia washed over him. He felt homesick for a memory, the memory of them together, all tangled limbs and warm breath and careful movements. He pushed the memory from his head and dumped his bag on the floor. 

“You wanna play fifa or something?” Cory asked. 

Naveed was shit at fifa. No surprises there, a gay boy who was terrible at real sports was bound to be dreadful at video game sports. When were they going to bring out a figure skating game? Now _that_ was something he’d be willing to get behind. But, like Naveed had already begrudgingly accepted, he could never say no to Cory. So with a very obvious eye roll, which earned him a laugh from Cory, he agreed, and they made their way back downstairs to plug in the Xbox. 

*

After Naveed managed to catastrophically lose eight games of fifa in a row, Cory finally shut the Xbox off. They ordered pizza, plain cheese for Naveed and a pepperoni for Cory, then once it arrived they settled down to watch a film. Naveed had wanted to watch The Lion King, Cory had wanted to watch Top Gun, so they compromised and watched The Lion King. 

Naveed was genuinely shocked when Cory agreed to watch it with him. Turns out it only took fifteen minutes of begging and a whole lot of pouting and puppy dog eyes for Cory to cave. Piece of cake. 

But two and a half films later and they were exhausted. Naveed was fighting every second to keep his eyes open, and each time he blinked his eyes were begging to stay closed. He glanced over to Cory, who was curled up on the opposite end of the sofa, and he looked as sleepy and out of it as Naveed felt. He squinted to see the time on the clock on the fireplace, and was surprised to see that it was almost 1 in the morning. 

Naveed stretched his leg out and poked Cory in the thigh with his toes. When Cory turned to look at him he gave Naveed the sleepiest, most adorable smile he’d ever seen, and Nav just about melted into a puddle. 

“We should sleep,” Naveed said. Thankfully he’d already changed into his pyjamas and brushed his teeth, so he was all ready to just crash. 

“Yeah, we should.” Cory let out a yawn and then rubbed his tired eyes. “Come on, let’s go.”

Naveed was confused. Go where?

“My bedroom is _upstairs_ ,” Cory said sarcastically, stifling another yawn as he stood up. 

“Yeah, I’ll just leave my stuff in your room, I’ll kip here.”

“You’re not sleeping on my couch, Nav,” Cory protested.

“Why not?”

“Because I have a perfectly good bed upstairs?” Retorted Cory. 

Naveed rubbed his sleepy eyes and groaned. If he hadn’t been so tired he would have been far less obvious, but his inhibitions were lacking when he was this exhausted. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea Cory,” Nav admitted, and he tried to convince himself he imagined it when Cory’s face dropped a little. 

“Come on,” Cory chuckled, “it’s not a big deal.”

 _For you maybe_ , Naveed thought, but he didn’t dare say it. If Cory wasn’t uncomfortable by this situation then Naveed wasn’t about to make him be just because he was. With a sigh of resignation Naveed stood up, slightly wobbly on his feet because of how little sleep he’d had the night before. Cory grinned, turning around to lead them both to his bedroom. 

*

They were wide awake. 

The second Naveed climbed into bed beside Cory, his body and mind went into overdrive. He was no longer tired or wanting to sleep, now he was acutely aware of how close he was to a shirtless Cory, so close in fact, that their arms were pressed against each other. Naveed fought back a shiver. 

They lay side by side and in complete silence, neither of them daring to move. The light switch was on the wall above the bed, but Cory hadn’t reached up to switch it off yet, and Naveed had never been more thankful for his dark complexion than he was in that moment, because his skin was on _fire_. His heart was beating so fast he was almost certain Cory could hear it, and he had no idea what to do with himself. 

“Naveed?” Cory asked, his voice no more than a whisper. 

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?” Naveed wasn’t sure what Cory was referring to, but he had a pretty good guess. 

“The other week. I shouldn’t have slept with Shannon.”

“Could have at least given yourself time to wash the sheets,” Naveed joked, trying to lighten the situation. 

“I shouldn’t have slept with her at all,” Cory elaborated, still serious. “I didn’t want to, not really.”

Naveed held in a gasp, fought back a twitch in his hand. “Why did you then?”

“Was scared,” Cory confessed. 

“Scared of what?”

“How I felt. About you. About _us_.”

“Us?” Naveed asked, having to confirm that he’d heard Cory correctly. There was no way Cory was really talking about an _us_ , was there?

“Yeah.” Cory paused and Naveed stopped breathing. “I talked to Riz.”

“Oh yeah?”

“He thought we were together.”

“I know.”

“You do?” Cory tilted his head, moving for the first time since they’d lay beside each other. 

Naveed just nodded, not sure if he could trust his voice enough to give a verbal answer. 

“He told me it was okay, y’know, if we were.”

“He said that to me too.” Naveed was painfully aware that Cory was looking at him, but fought not to turn his head and meet his gaze. 

“I really, _really_ like you, Nav,” Cory revealed. 

Naveed nearly choked, nearly laughed, nearly cried. He had no idea what to do. It was like he’d forgotten how to breathe, to talk and move. It was all he had ever wanted to hear from Cory, but now that it had been said he had no idea how to respond. He realised that he was afraid, afraid that tomorrow morning Cory would take it all back again, find someone else to sleep with to rub the feel of Naveed’s body off his own. 

“Aren’t you gonna say something?” Cory’s voice cracked, as if he were afraid too, and suddenly it was like Naveed’s fears didn’t matter anymore, because all he wanted was to make Cory feel better. 

“I want to be happy, but what if you change your mind in the morning?”

“I won’t. I panicked last time, and I’m sorry, I’m _so_ sorry for what I did to you. The look on your face when you saw her, shit, it nearly killed me Nav. I didn’t know how to handle any of it, cos I wasn’t expecting it to happen.”

“So how is this time any different?”

“Because this time I haven’t _stopped_ thinking about it. You’re on my mind every second of the day, I don’t even have words for how I feel about you, this time I know what I want.” 

And Naveed had never heard anything sound so sweet. 

He took a deep breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth. He didn’t want to freak out and scare Cory away, so he was trying not to rush his response, but Cory evidently thought he wasn’t replying because he didn’t want to go through it again. 

“I’m a mess, I know I am,” Cory said, turning on his side to face Naveed, “and I’ll probably do dumb stuff, okay, because I don’t know to do _this_ ,” Cory gestured between the two of them, “I don’t know how to love you, but I really want to, if you’ll let me.”

Naveed smiled, because how could he not? It was everything he’d wanted to hear and more.

“You already do,” Naveed told him, also turning on his side, taking Cory’s hands in his own. “You already love me.”

And in that moment, Naveed had never seen Cory look so soft, so content. It was like everything just clicked into place, like that was exactly what Cory needed to hear. He had spent so long thinking he wouldn’t be able to, that he didn’t know how to truly love someone, that he hadn’t realised he’d been doing it all along. 

Hesitantly, Cory brought one of his hands up to caress Naveed’s face. He brushed his finger along his cheekbone, his jawline, and finally his lips. His eyes were fixed on them, desperate to kiss Naveed, but not wanting to move too fast - too scared to take it and too shy to ask for it. 

Naveed picked up on it, what Cory was silently asking for, and in no time at all he crossed the tiny space between them and touched his lips to Cory’s. There weren’t fireworks and explosions, there was no sudden urgency to rip their clothes off and devour each other, it was just quiet contentment. Two people who loved each other kissing softly. 

They pulled apart, resting their heads back on the pillow, but staying so close together that they could feel each other’s breath on their faces. They smiled at each other warmly. 

“Thank you,” Cory murmured, allowing his hand to brush a piece of Nav’s hair away from his face and linger on his cheek. 

“What for?”

“Being patient with me.”

“You were worth it.”

*

When they woke up the next morning they were curled together. Cory placed a kiss on Naveed’s shoulder, then pressed his face into the crook of his neck and drifted back to sleep. Happy. In love.


End file.
